Kat Fennimore
February 2026
Kat
Fennimore
,
RN, BSN, CEN, TCRN
PeaceHealth Sacred Heart Medical Center
Springfield
,
OR
United States
Kat took command of the chaos, keeping everyone moving and getting to everyone as quickly as they could.
The day after my hysterectomy, I started having a fever and generally was feeling unwell. It was later than my doctor's office was open (also the Friday evening), so they recommended I visit my local ER. Knowing the kind of care I receive at my local hospital, we made the hour drive south to visit PeaceHealth. The place was packed! As soon as we walked in, we knew we would be a while, but we were so surprised that in the time it took my partner to park the car, I was already getting my blood pressure taken and checked in. For the next several hours, we watched as Kat took command of the chaos, keeping everyone moving and getting to everyone as quickly as they could. This did not stop almost every person in the waiting room from asking her how much longer it would be. It was so bad that when it was my turn, almost six hours later, they were surprised we were still there because we were the only ones who didn't come up to check.
As it got closer to our time, a car screeched up to the front doors. In rushed a family, tears running down their face, a loved one cradled in their arms, and that's when Kat really jumped into action. Seemingly, before we could even blink, she was around the counter, directing us to put the loved one on the bed and not the wheelchair, hopped up on the bed, and started chest compressions as another nurse rushed the bed to the back. Weeks later, my partner and I are still talking about how if we ever have a loved one in such a dire situation, we hope we have a Kat around who didn't pause, who was commanding and sure, and didn't leave any wiggle room for the security, other nurses, and the family to be unsure of what they should be doing and where they should be standing.
When she returned to the front shortly after, still sweaty and catching her breath, she immediately jumped right back into commanding the ER chaos. We were enraged on her behalf that people walked up right after she returned to ask how much longer it would be for them, as if we all hadn't just seen the same thing happen. But she handled them with professionalism. Everyone needs a Kat, and PeaceHealth is so very lucky they have one!
As it got closer to our time, a car screeched up to the front doors. In rushed a family, tears running down their face, a loved one cradled in their arms, and that's when Kat really jumped into action. Seemingly, before we could even blink, she was around the counter, directing us to put the loved one on the bed and not the wheelchair, hopped up on the bed, and started chest compressions as another nurse rushed the bed to the back. Weeks later, my partner and I are still talking about how if we ever have a loved one in such a dire situation, we hope we have a Kat around who didn't pause, who was commanding and sure, and didn't leave any wiggle room for the security, other nurses, and the family to be unsure of what they should be doing and where they should be standing.
When she returned to the front shortly after, still sweaty and catching her breath, she immediately jumped right back into commanding the ER chaos. We were enraged on her behalf that people walked up right after she returned to ask how much longer it would be for them, as if we all hadn't just seen the same thing happen. But she handled them with professionalism. Everyone needs a Kat, and PeaceHealth is so very lucky they have one!